ARTICLES ABOUT POWER LINE BY DATE - PAGE 4

TRENTON, N.J. — A coalition of environmental groups has filed a federal challenge seeking to block a high-voltage power line that would run through parkland spanning Pennsylvania and New Jersey, on eachr side of the Delaware River. The lawsuit, filed in Washington against the National Park Service, challenges the agency's recent approval of the Susquehanna-Roseland line, which is slated to run through 16 municipalities in northwestern New Jersey, from Berwick, Columbia County, to Roseland.

The National Park Service has approved construction of a controversial high-power transmission line through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The $1.2 billion line, which PPL Corp. of Allentown and New Jersey utility PSE&G announced five years ago, will run 130 miles from PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township, Luzerne County, to the Roseland substation near Newark, N.J. Along the way, it will pass through 4.3 miles of the Delaware Water Gap - the only significant expanse of forested national park land anywhere near the Lehigh Valley, and the only one between Virginia and Maine.

Power was restored Friday to about 10,000 customers who lost it during thunderstorms the night before in the Lehigh Valley, Poconos and Berks County regions. Weaker storms Friday night caused relatively little damage, allowing further progress on repairing the power lines damaged Thursday. At 6:30 a.m. Friday, PPL Electric Utilities and First Energy Corp.'s Met-Ed reported outages to about 11,000 customers in Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton counties, and Hunterdon and Warren counties in New Jersey.

Thunderclouds rolled east into the greater Lehigh Valley early Tuesday evening, blocking out the sun and pummeling the region with rain, wind and lightning. Temperatures dropped 17 degrees in one hour. The storm hammered parts of the Poconos and Carbon County with hail, but it wasn't so intense as feared, National Weather Service meteorologist Anthony Gigi said. "It was kind of your average severe thunderstorm," he said. "It just arrived late enough that it didn't coincide with the maximum heating of the day. " More than 2,000 Lehigh Valley residents lost power in the storm.

Two billboard workers were injured at the Lehigh Valley Mall on Wednesday afternoon when they came into contact with an electrical line, police said. One of the men was in and out of consciousness when police arrived in the area behind Macy's department store, Whitehall Lt. Ribello Bertoni said. The other worker suffered minor electrical shock injuries, he said. Both men were rushed to a hospital. Bertoni said the men worked for a sign company and were placing a new billboard around 1:30 p.m. when one of them came into contact with an electrical line that powers the lights on the billboard.

In a big win for PPL Electric Utilities, the National Park Service has given support to the company's proposal for a high-voltage power line cutting through Delaware Water Gap, a project opposed by some environmentalists. The park service on Thursday identified the route proposed by PPL and its New Jersey partner as a "preferred alternative" in its environmental review of the project. The distinction does not represent final approval — a decision is expected this fall — but it shows the agency siding with PPL over objections of environmentalists.

A woman was knocked unconscious and trapped in her car near Emmaus on Wednesday night when she crashed into a utility pole, bringing down power lines, according to police radio reports. The accident was reported 8:50 p.m. on John Street, Upper Milford Township, between Winfield and Chestnut streets, southwest of Emmaus. Firefighters reported live electric lines down and the driver unconscious. They called for a PPL Electric Utilities crew, which rushed out and safely removed the lines from the car within 15 or 20 minutes.

Springfield Township officials ended a more than three-year battle Tuesday of trying to stop construction of a PPL power line with a settlement that gives the municipality $325,000 and a list of protective environmental measures. The settlement gained approval from all but two supervisors, Volker Oakey and John Oehler, who recused themselves because they do business with the power company. Township solicitor Terry Clemons said in addition to PPL paying the township $325,000, the power company also agreed to follow a list of measures during construction of the seven-mile line to reduce the impact on the environment.

In the height of arrogance, PPL and Public Service Electric & Gas Co. have announced that if they do not receive National Park Service approval to construct the Susquehanna-Roseland 500-kilovolt line they will construct a new 230-kilovolt line on their right of way through the Delaware Water Gap National Park. These companies seem to think they are above federal regulations and environmental standards. This project will have devastating impacts on the parks and bring more coal energy into New Jersey.

Ticket sales have picked up — 64 percent capacity Nov. 1 through Jan. 14. That includes seven sold-out shows. And, in a twist, the mild winter weather is likely drawing more people in the last two weeks to the $26 million ArtsQuest Center near the former Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces… Whitehall is concerned about Allentown hockey arena debris being dumped in township… Bill authorizing new natural gas charge to pay to replace...